Buying gorilla tracking permits in Uganda

Buying gorilla tracking permits in Uganda: Gorilla tracking permits are cards or documents issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority a government body in charge of tourism to enable travelers to encounter mountain gorillas for a period of 1 hour or habituate them for 4 hours. Gorilla trekking permits are sold to travelers that are above the age of 15 years and they can buy them from Uganda Wildlife Authority or a trusted local tour operator.

Buying gorilla tracking permits in Uganda

Mountain gorillas in Uganda are found in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park which has more than half of the mountain gorilla population left in the whole world and then Mgahinga national park. The two national parks are located in the southwestern part of the country near Rwanda and DR Congo. Mountain gorillas have been habituated and therefore fine with the human presence around them and this has been made to enable travelers to encounter these apes said to be sharing 98% human DNA with human beings.

Mountain gorillas are endangered primates that need a lot of conservation for their population to increase. There are rangers in the park and doctors who make sure that these mountain gorillas are very safe in the wild. Gorilla families are first habituated by rangers and later when they pass the mocking stage they allow travelers to trek them.

To trek mountain gorillas you need a gorilla trekking permit and to habituate mountain gorillas you do need a gorilla habituation permit. They are cards given to travelers to allow them to be part of the mountain gorilla trekking activity. These gorilla permits come at a fee and they are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority at the same time can be got from a trusted local tour operator.

buy a Uganda gorilla permit from UWA

Where to buy gorilla tracking permits in Uganda

Directly from Uganda Wildlife Authority

Travelers that are interested in trekking mountain gorillas in Uganda can buy gorilla trekking permits or habituation permits directly from Uganda Wildlife Authority. UWA is a government body that controls and manages 10 national parks in the country. The government body is responsible for issuing out of gorilla permits for Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park.

To book with Uganda Wildlife Authority, you will contact the reservations office via email which should contain the national park you want to visit, the type of gorilla permits, dates of the month, and the year you want to encounter mountain gorillas. The information shall be used to check for the availability of permits. If the permits are not available, you will be asked to change the dates and once they are available you will be sent an email containing the different banking details and the price of the permits. When you send the money, you will send back an email with the scanned copy of the receipt for proof of payment and your permit shall be booked.

Booking through a local tour operator

Travelers that are using tour operators to organize the gorilla safaris to Bwindi don’t have to worry about booking the permits themselves from Uganda Wildlife Authority. The tour operator will need your dates of the month and year you are interested in trekking and the information shall be used to check for the availability of the permits with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. If the permits are not available, you will be asked to change the trekking dates.

If the gorilla permits are available, you will receive an email containing the different banking details and the price of the permits. You choose your best method to send money and thereafter send us an email containing the scanned copy of the receipt. We shall book your gorilla permit and you will find it with us on the day your safari begins. Travelers should note that tour operators don’t charge extra costs to book for your gorilla permits.

Price of gorilla permits

There are two types of gorilla permits in Uganda and these include gorilla trekking permits which are sold to travelers that want to encounter fully habituated mountain gorillas for 1 hour and then gorilla habituation permits which are for semi-habituated gorillas for 4 hours. The gorilla trekking permits are sold at a fee of $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 citizens of East Africa. The gorilla habituation permits are for $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East Africa.

Gorilla trekkers searching for Gorillas in Bwindi National park

When to buy gorilla tracking permits?

When Buying gorilla tracking permits in Uganda, time or the season you are going to trek gorillas should be put in consideration. Uganda has two seasons which include the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season of June to September and December to February attracts a lot of travelers and therefore travelers that are I tending to visit that park in that period need to book their gorilla permits 3-4 months early in advance to avoid last-minute booking disappointments. The gorilla permits in Uganda are sold on a first come first serve basis and they sell out in the dry season.

Travelers that are planning to visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in the rainy season can book their permits even one month before the gorilla trekking day. The rainy season happens from March to May and October to November and since it’s characterized by plenty of rainfall it attracts a few travelers. The permits are always available at Uganda Wildlife Authority so you don’t have to rush to book these permits.

How many gorilla permits are available in Uganda?

Uganda has the highest number of mountain gorillas in the whole world because it has the highest population of habituated gorilla families. Uganda has 20 fully habituated mountain gorilla families of which 19 are of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and 1 is for Mgahinga national park. each of the mountain gorilla families is trekked by a maximum number of 8 people and this means the country has a total number of 160 gorilla trekking permits. Uganda has got two mountain gorilla families designed for habituation permits and they are each trekked by 4 people which means those are 8 gorilla habituation permits. Therefore, Uganda has 8 gorilla habituation permits and 160 gorilla trekking permits.